Writing Fix
Writing Fix: Great Lists Inspire Great Writing
A writer's workshop idea where students work together to brainstorm a list a possible writing topics to use throughout the year. Idea lists for primary and intermediate students are provided.
Cambridge Rindge & Latin School
Cambridge Rindge & Latin School: Creating Subtopic Headings
An excellent tip sheet on how to group information after brainstorming and prewriting.
Cambridge Rindge & Latin School
Cambridge Rindge & Latin School: Making an Outline
A tip sheet on how to create and outline for a research paper.
Cambridge Rindge & Latin School
Cambridge Rindge & Latin School: Research Topic Ideas
A comprehensive and in-depth list of possible topics and ideas for research papers from the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School.
Grammarly
Grammarly Handbook: Planning
Tips for planning an essay. Links to additional information on the topics Assess the Situation, Think about Writing Ideas, How to Write a Thesis Statement, and How to Write an Outline are provided.
Other
Greg Freeman: Brainstorming Web
Greg Freeman gives an example and explanation of the graphic diagram called "brainstorming web." Includes suggestions for effective use, working strategies, and useful links.
Other
Paradigm Online Writing Assistant: Freewriting
This Paradigm Online Writing Assistant site clearly explains freewriting and gives three practice exercises. Includes links to more writing help.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Essay Map
A fillable essay map in PDF format with boxes for an introduction, main ideas, supporting details, and a conclusion. Directions on how to use this type of graphic organizer as well as lists of teaching ideas and related resources are...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Empowered Fiction Writers: Generating and Organizing Ideas
Do your young scholars' minds go blank when they confront a blank piece of paper? Speedwriting can help them get started with writing as well as come up with topics to write about. They can then incorporate their key ideas and phrases...
Daily Teaching Tools
Daily Teaching Tools: Customizable Graphic Organizers
This Daily Teaching Tools resource provides a series of customizable graphic organizers. Students will be able to engage in "during reading" strategies and writing process graphic organizers.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Collaborative Prewriting and Drafting
A very useful lesson that incorporates the process of collaboration to elementary students. Students brainstorm and use prewriting strategies to write a group story.
TES Global
Tes: Writing Bootcamp #1: Extended Free Write
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students will write for an extended period of time. Students will engage in this silent writing activity to building their stamina and to increase their creativity.
Caro Clarke
The Doldrums: When the Wind Leaves Your Sails
This is the 16th article in a series that gives advice to the new novel writer. This is a particularly interesting and helpful article on how to deal with periods in writing when your enthusiasm wanes.
Scholastic
Scholastic: "I Feel" Origami Boxes
Give your students writing prompts to help them with their writer's block by using these PDF templates of boxes with open-ended prompts written on them. Although targeting elementary students, the concept could be used for middle school...
Sophia Learning
Sophia: Easy to Create Graphic Organizers
Two PDF's that can be viewed online or downloaded and printed. The first is one page showing students several examples of abbreviations that can be used when taking notes. The second is a four pages and shows how different types of...
Sophia Learning
Sophia: Paper Writing: Outlines
Show students how essential an outline is to writing a paper. This source provides explanations for writing an outline and information about how to create both formal and informal outlines.
Sophia Learning
Sophia: Prewriting: Dialogue
A six-slide presentation introducing how to have a dialogue in order to brainstorm ideas during the prewriting stage of the writing process.
Indiana University
Indiana University: Writing Guides: Using Outlines
Explains how outlines can be used at different stages in the writing project. Covers outlines developed during research, prewriting, and drafting. Also discusses the formal outline, which may be required with a finished paper. Gives...
Wisconsin Response to Intervention Center
Wisconsin Rt I Center: Story Writing Frames [Pdf]
Teachers will learn how to use story writing frames with their students. Teachers will learn how to implement story frames; measure progress with story frames; and find research to support using story frames. A reproducible story frame...
Writing Fix
Writing Fix: Squiggles
After reading "The Squiggle" by Carole Lexa Schafer, students use their own creative vision and talent to turn a squiggle into a masterpiece. They use crayons to color background and details, anything that helps make their squiggle into...
Online Writing Lab at Purdue University
Purdue University Owl: Starting the Writing Process
Getting started on a paper or story always seems to be the greatest obstacle. Learn some simple prewriting strategies to overcome this common problem. Use the links on the left to work through each step of the writing process. W.9-10.5...
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Writing Process: Use Outlines, Notes, Graphic Organizers, Lists
[Accessible by TX Educators. Free Registration/Login Required] Use outlines, notes, graphic organizers, and lists to help you evaluate and organize your ideas.
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Generate Ideas and Questions
Learn strategies to help you generate questions and ideas about a topic.
Lumen Learning
Lumen: Writing Process: Prewriting
This lesson focuses on prewriting including the purpose and characteristics of prewriting, prewriting strategies, the rhetorical context, and developing a working thesis statement. It also includes a slide show about author, audience,...